SONYA’S BAR AND GRILL The former dive has turned its culinary output up a few notches with a new menu and a classy remodel. Sonya’s has long been the local gay bar with the best view—now it might be the one with the best food, too. Stop in from 5 to 7 p.m. daily and pay just $4 a plate for above-average bar food. The beer- battered fish comes with near-perfect fries; a cheeseburger, steamed Penn Cove mussels in garlic butter, pork and vegetable pot stickers, designer salads, and buttermilk-chili-marinated calamari all go for less than a five-spot. Plus you can drink for cheap without the pretensions of nearby Belltown. The new front bar and dining room are sleek and Northwest chic, with a nice view of First Avenue ped traffic, but who can resist the back bar, with its big window onto Elliott Bay? 1919 First Ave., 206-441-7996. DOWNTOWN $-$$

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